For music fans there’s a special treat in store on Friday 16 August as Journeys Live takes place on Jubilee Square. Completely free to attend, the event will see international hip hop and soul music takeover the city centre. We chatted with festival curators, ArtReach, to find out more in this week’s BID Leicester Spotlight feature.
“Travel the world without moving from Jubilee Square”, that’s how organisers describe this weekend’s Journeys Live event. An evening of free entertainment with a line-up of incredible artists, both emerging and established, from across the continents. It’s a very special event to be part of.
Alongside the global talent on stage, visitors can expect to enjoy creative workshops and street food featuring global cuisine, making this a real family focused event. There will be roaming street theatre which features giant puppets on a comedy adventure taking place and attendees will also get to experience the brand new roaming digital artwork, Angels, which is touring the city centre projecting snippets of film of people exploring what advice they would share if they were their own guardian angel.
But what about the music?
MC Mohammed Yahya, became the first hip-hop artist to perform in Leicester Cathedral back in 2018 and has been a firm favourite since! Originally from Mozambique, the rapper x hip hop x spoken word performer really bring his personality to life on stage, “My music is really a reflection of myself. I need to be honest in my lyrics.”
Joining Mohammed will be local, rising-star Lydia Lutudi, who you may recognise as the previous winner of Leicester’s Got Talent and she’s also a regular on the local gig circuit. She’ll be raising the roof with her seriously soulful voice.
Joining them will be Namvula, who recently played at BBC’s Biggest Weekend. Her unique blend of traditional Zambian folk mixed with an eclectic cutting edge sound, makes for a brilliant performance and a perfect addition to the line-up.
Kuduashe Matimba & Harare will then close the evening with their unique blend of African Marimba, stomping-funky-basslines and uplifting vocals. What an end to the night!
Oli Page, Producer for ArtReach, added “It’s so exciting to be able to bring international stars to Leicester. One thing that we’re particularly proud of is working with artist on the rise in their careers. Journeys Live is a fantastic event, the atmosphere is always incredible at these performances and best of all people can enjoy a stellar set of performances, from world-class musicians, without spending a penny.”
Journeys Live is part of Journeys Festival International Leicester and takes place at Jubilee Square on Friday 16 August from 4 – 8pm. Free to attend.
Our BID Spotlight features are brought to you in collaboration with BID Leicester.
